Design & ProcessDelivering Customer Happiness

2

Contents• Background: “Change Ahead” • Process Improvement At A Crossroads • Why Design Matters • Design Thinking + Process Improvement • Lean Six Sigma • Design Thinking • A Dynamic Duo • The Road Ahead

3

Background

‣ Recent trends are re-shaping the way people think about process improvement

‣ Progressive companies are combining traditional Lean Six Sigma process improvement techniques with an emphasis on design

‣ Result is processes, products and services that are more human-centric and enjoyable for those who use them

Process improvement techniques are changing

4

CrossroadsProcess improvement and tools are at a crossroads

• Significant difference between the effective, simple and intuitive use of technology and process that we have come to expect and our actual experience

• Success of companies such as Apple, Amazon, Google, and Zappos has more business leaders focused on the importance of good design and customer delight

Why Design Matters

• We are in the Age of the Customer • Customers have more power, choice

and influence than ever before • What we think and feel about our

interaction with an organization’s products and services is increasingly important due to the rise of social media

• Social media brings a new level of transparency to what consumers are thinking and feeling about a brand

Power is in the hands of the customer

5

75% Gartner predicts that by 2015 75% of consumers will tell their friends about their bad experiences using social media (up from 25% in 2010).

6

Deep Customer Insight

• Lean Six Sigma process improvement helps make processes:

- more efficient, by removing waste

- more predictable, by reducing variation

• Although Lean Six Sigma seeks to capture the “voice of the customer,” it tends to lack deeper examination, understanding and empathy for customer needs and desires

• This is where design thinking comes into play

• Design thinking brings a fresh approach and new tools that drive customer understanding

Design Thinking addresses a gap in Lean Six Sigma

7

Merging customer empathy with process-centric toolsDesign Thinking + Process

Design Thinking Empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in developing solutions, and rationality to fit solutions to the context.

Process Improvement

Identify, analyze and improve existing business processes

within an organization to meet new goals and objectives.

8

Design Thinking + Process

Lean Six SigmaDesign Thinking

‣ Lean Six Sigma follows the five phase DMAIC process

‣ In DMAIC, the Define and Measure phases are similar to the Understand, Observe and Define phases of design thinking

‣ While Lean Six Sigma pros emphasize measurement in these phases, design thinking pros add more qualitative research upfront to create empathy for the customer

In design thinking, practitioners observe people

They watch how they behave and interact

They talk to people about what they are doing and how they are feeling

The Understand and Observe phases of design thinking help practitioners develop a sense of empathy.

Comparing aspects of the two approaches

9

A standard design cycleDesign Thinking

Understand Observe Define Ideate Prototype Test

Divergen

t ConvergentConvergentDivergent

Practitioners observe people during the design thinking process. They watch how they behave and interact. They talk to people about what they are doing and how they are feeling. They ask questions and reflect on what they see. The Understand and Observe phases of design thinking help practitioners develop a sense of empathy.

10

A Standard Lean Six Sigma improvement cycleLean Six Sigma

11

Define ControlMeasure Analyze Improve

‣ Define the problem, the voice of the customer, and the project goals.

‣ Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data.

‣ Analyze the data to investigate and verify cause-and-effect relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all factors have been considered. Seek out root cause of the defect under investigation.

‣ Improve or optimize the current process based upon data analysis using techniques and standardize work to create a new, future state process. Set up pilot runs to establish process capability.

‣ Control the future state process to ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects. Implement control systems and continuously monitor the process.

12Copyright © 2013 GreenFrog. All rights reserved.

Process Improvement + Design Thinking = A Dynamic Duo

12

A Dynamic Duo

- Albert Einstein

A better understanding of customer needs can help Lean Six Sigma pros balance goals

The combination brings significant benefits

13

Drive enjoyable interactions that

improve customer loyalty

Drive efficiency and remove waste

A Dynamic Duo (cont)

- Albert Einstein

The combination brings significant benefits

14

!

• Design thinking can also benefit from the discipline and structure that Lean Six Sigma provides

• Business process pros emphasize the ongoing quantitative measurement of processes and the introduction of controls to help ensure consistency

• These techniques help ensure that a well-designed process continues to perform well and delight customers

The Road Ahead

• As this trend gains momentum, we’ll continue to see strategies for using design to optimize and transform business processes

• Is your organization one of the many embracing design thinking and sending practitioners to programs such as Stanford’s d.school?

• Are you noticing more and more Lean Six Sigma practitioners who emphasize design?

• Let us know what’s working in your workplace

A trend that will gain momentum in coming years

15

16

17

Contact Me !

@DaveBirckheadwww.davebirckhead.com